


The Highwayman

by areyoukiddingme



Category: Adam Ant (Musician), Original Work
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Old Fashioned Romance, Stand And Deliver, Submission, Victorian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-20 03:31:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9473483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/areyoukiddingme/pseuds/areyoukiddingme
Summary: “Is that a threat?” He quirked a smile at me that made my skin crawl.“Observation.” I responded quickly.“I know your face.” He said thoughtfully, his eyebrows knitting as he reached forward to tip my chin up, my heart skipping in my chest as he did so. “You weren’t at my hanging, were you?”~The notorious 'Gallant Highwayman' interrupts another young ladies' carriage, but the woman he finds inside isn't quite what he was expecting. Inspired by 'Stand and Deliver' by Adam Ant.





	

I saw him standing there. Standing on the wooden planks, his cool eyes calmly surveying the crowd. His eyes briefly alighted on mine before moving on, not moved at all by the cheering slurry of people all shouting for his death.

I was standing at the back as to not get blood and guts and gore on my fancy dress. Not that they were beheading him, of course. Only a good old fashioned hanging for the infamous highwayman. We all knew him as merely ‘the gallant highwayman’ until the crier said his true name, James Davenport, and we all saw him as a person, although I was sure that some of the swooning women among the crowd didn’t have trouble in seeing that side of him at all. I wasn’t one to throw myself at the feet of any man, but I had to admit, even when being flanked by my father and mother, I could see the appeal in his ratty hair, pale complexion and garb made of various stolen items, including a rather smart military jacket that suited him very well. Something so taboo that you couldn’t help but fall, ever so slightly.

The executioner had finished his speech and reached for the handle that held poor James’ life in the balance when a man appeared by his side, also dressed in black, but he had a pistol pointed towards the executioner’s temple, which presumably put them on opposing sides. I saw the highwayman glance to the side and smile slightly as if he were expecting this. The crowd was in uproar as this exact situation had occurred at three other scheduled hangings and James Davenport still wasn’t dead. And, from the cocky look on his face, he wasn’t going to be dead any time soon. The man dressed in black stood forward, slashing the noose that was restraining the highwayman so it dangled from his neck like an unattractive necklace before removing the restraints from his hands with ease. Three more men and five horses appeared behind the wooden structure and the highwayman looked set to leave when a voice rang out from the crowd.

“Scum!”

His voice was so loud that even I could hear it, and I was standing at the other side of the crowd.

“You’re scum, you hear me?” The man shouted, stepping forward and I could see he was a rather portly, middle-aged gentleman, face red with rage. “First you kill my brother, now you run away from your fate. People like you deserve to die.”

The highwayman let his gaze drift before fixing it firmly on the portly gentleman and without hesitation lifted his pistol and shot him between the eyes. The man stumbled to the ground, dead, and among the confusion the highwayman and his band escaped on horseback. I felt slightly sick to my stomach; I had just witnessed someone die. And I was still attracted to the man who committed the sin. What was wrong with me?

Two weeks had passed and I was on my way to the Dupuy’s for a dinner party. My mother was already engaged and my father complained of a headache, although I knew that he hated dinner parties with a passion, so whether the headache was genuine or not was questionable. I was alone, trundling along in the carriage, my mind on higher things when a loud bang startled me from my reverie. The horses outside started making a fuss and the carriage rocked vigorously, making me shake and impulsively grip onto the window. Then everything stopped abruptly and the curtain I had drawn over the window was pulled back sharply and I saw a familiar face. Not comfortingly familiar though. It was the highwayman. He had a black mask over his eyes this time but it was unmistakably him.

“Hello love.” He peered into the window, seeming to enjoy the startled look on my face. “I’m afraid this is a hold up. If you wouldn’t mind stepping outside.”

He opened the carriage door for me before turning to reign his horse. I looked in the other direction, debating whether to run for it when he turned back and the moment was gone. I complied with his demands hesitantly, refusing the hand he offered to help me out of the carriage. In a situation like this, it was better not to act the damsel in distress or you may be taken advantage of.

Goose bumps rose on my arms as I waited in the cool evening breeze. I hadn’t dressed for the outdoors.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing travelling on your own?” He asked, tipping his head to the side. I decided to ignore his comment to my looks for the mere thought of it would make me blush; I had fantasised about him enough over the past couple of weeks to make this meeting a most inopportune one in relation to my feelings for him.

“Well, my father and I foolishly presumed that you would have left the country by now. Obviously we were wrong. Or you were, depending on one’s view.” I spoke sharply, trying to ignore my constricting chest and the fact that we were alone in the middle of a dirt track, dizzyingly vulnerable and secluded.

“Is that a threat?” He quirked a smile at me that made my skin crawl.

“Observation.” I responded quickly.

“I know your face.” He said thoughtfully, his eyebrows knitting as he reached forward to tip my chin up, my heart skipping in my chest as he did so. “You weren’t at my hanging, were you?”

“I was.” I responded, feeling blush creep up my neck.

“I thought so. I couldn’t forget a face like yours.” He smirked at me as I broke my gaze to look at the scenery. “I’m sorry, am I embarrassing you?”

“You’ve killed my coachman, haven’t you?” I interrupted suddenly, looking at the empty seat on the front of my carriage.

“You’re not listening to me.”

“How am I to get home now?” I mused, starting sharply when I noticed that the highwayman had drawn his pistol and had it aimed towards my head.

“Who says I’m going to let you go home?” He asked rhetorically, arching his eyebrow. I hesitated before squaring my shoulders and setting my jaw.

“I’m not scared of you.” I tried to stop my voice from shaking as I challenged him.

“Why not?” He cocked the gun and my breathing faltered.

“I’ve only heard of you killing men. Like that man you shot at the hanging, you did that without a second thought. But I haven’t heard one story of a woman you’ve killed.” I stumbled.

“That’s true.” He smirked at me, de-cocking his pistol before putting it back into his belt. “I must admit, ladies like you are a weakness.”

“You’re a horrid man.” I spoke shortly.

“Thank you.” He spoke earnestly, his intense gaze not breaking mine. “Now, I’m afraid this isn’t a social visit. Your valuables, if you please.”

He held out his hands like he was a small child begging for sweets. I grimaced, my hand automatically reaching to clutch my mother’s necklace.

“Very well.” He spoke softly as he approached me and gripped my hands, removing every ring that I had on my fingers and putting them in his pocket before moving onto my necklace, my breath hitching as his cool fingers brushed my neck. Then he took my earrings and my hair piece and even my fan before stepping back to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Then, as if it were an afterthought, he reached into the folds of my skirt and yanked the small purse I kept for emergencies off of my waist.

“You know, you’re awfully good for a victim.” He commented as he tipped out the contents of the purse into his hand and started counting. “Most of the girls faint at this point and I have to transport them home while they’re unconscious. But I’m sure they tell all of their friends about their exploits with the gallant highwayman.”

My gaze involuntarily wondered to the empty seat on the front of the carriage and he followed it.

“Do you know how to drive?” He questioned, putting the purse away and settling into a more relaxed posture. I looked at him as if he were mad.

“No.”

“I can. I could take you home, if you wished.”

I hesitated, looking to the carriage to the highwayman and back.

“What do you want in return?”

“Oh, nothing much.” He drawled, his eyes fixing on mine abruptly. “How about a kiss?”

“That’s all?”

“I like your attitude.” He commented, grinning at me.

“And you promise you’ll take me home?” I asked, doubts slowly starting to filter into my mind.

“I swear of it.” He said earnestly and I wanted to trust him, I truly did. Well, I didn’t have much choice so far from my home so late at night.

I approached him cautiously, looking into his greedy eyes. My hands were shaking so I clenched them into fists as he leaned his head down to my height, his nose brushing my own as he held me in a dizzying high before kissing me tenderly, far more tenderly than I would have predicted for such a notorious highwayman. I was unused to a man’s touch but as he kissed me I knew that he was experienced for his kind, his lips exceptionally warm and comforting against the cool night air and his hands slowly rising to cup my jaw while his cloak brushed against my side.

I felt more and more faint as he kissed me and felt dangerously close to passing out. I didn’t want to be just another damsel that he transported home so I pushed against his chest, his eyebrows rising as he released my lips. He was obviously unused to women fighting against his advances but took it in his stride anyway, holding out his arm for me to take. I hesitated before taking it; I hadn’t realised that he wanted me beside him as he rode the carriage back to my house. I wasn’t prepared to turn back now that I had come so far however so settled beside him without a fuss, not saying anything as he wound an arm around my waist and settled the reins in his hands. He clicked at the horses to start moving and they behaved obediently, not even noticing that their previous master was lying in the grass beside them, growing colder by the second.

“What of your horse?” I asked suddenly, turning my head to see it still tied to a tree.

“It’ll survive the night. Besides, he’s far too temperamental for a carriage horse.” I could hear the slight smirk in his voice next to my ear that gave me goose bumps despite knowing it all too well by this point.

We stayed relatively silent throughout the rest of the journey until we arrived in the town and the highwayman started travelling a very direct way to my house without me saying a single word. I wondered if I was just luck until I became so obvious that I had to ask.

“How do you know where I live?” I asked as we pulled onto my street.

“You don’t think I follow any old carriage to rob, do you? I must find someone with wealth or there’s no point.”

It was a very quick answer for him and the romantic side of my brain wondered if he were embellishing slightly. He had cornered me in a carriage, knowing that I was alone and he had also recognised me from the hanging. I had to banish such ridiculous thoughts before I became too attached. He had robbed so many young women, I was no different. He merely used his good looks and youth to take advantage of impressionable women. Like me.

The carriage slowed to a halt outside my house.

“This is where I would carry you in, if you were unconscious.” He muttered next to my ear, making me shudder. “Unless, of course, you want me to anyway.”

I shrugged off his grip and turned to alight onto the pavement, seeing my door and feeling a wave of panic overcome me.

“What am I to tell my parents?” I gasped, looking to my side only to see that the highwayman was already there, standing on the pavement beside me.

“The truth?” He suggested, mocking me with his light-hearted tone.

“What, tell them that I took a ride home from the man who they tried to hang? They’d kill me.”

“I could always take you to your room. I’m very good at being inconspicuous.”

There was something about his wording that made me believe that if I took his offer then I would somehow end up in his arms despite the fact of me being conscious, and the thought of that was even worse than that of facing my parents.

“I’m going to respectfully decline.” I muttered, starting to walk towards the door. “There must be something I’d be able to tell them that wouldn’t cause alarm.”

“You could say I had a gun to your head.” He offered and I looked at him pointedly.

“You _did_ have a gun to my head.” I reminded him.

“Only for a moment.” He pouted, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Perhaps I could put it down to being hysterical. That’s why I don’t remember.” I mused.

“Yes. You women can put anything down to hysterics. I’m rather jealous.”

“You shouldn’t be.” I said shortly, stopping at the door. I lifted my hand to the handle, hesitated before dropping it again.

“Do I not even get a kiss goodbye?” The highway man asked and I turned to him, a blush tinging my cheeks.

“I’ve given you quite enough.” I flustered, the un-knocked door suddenly looking very appealing.

“Yes, you have.” He muttered, drawing closer to me. “Which means I owe you something more, I believe.”

He swooped in, catching me off guard as he pressed his lips against mine and kissed me ferociously, his hand gripping at my waist and my arms lifting in the shock of the moment. I had no time to stop and think that I was kissing a stranger on my parent’s porch when he released me and started backing out of the driveway, an idle smirk on his face until he disappeared from my sight altogether. I pressed my fingers to my lips gingerly, not ever wanting to be rid of the sensation but also not wanting my parents to find any trace of him when I rushed inside and babbled on about my terrifying experience with the gallant highwayman.

My parents overreacted, as I knew they would, and I wasn’t allowed out the next night. I complained bitterly but they only repeated their concerns, my mother relaying that he could have ‘compromised my innocence’ and my father worried about the carriage and who was going to drive it now the coachman was dead. So I spent the night alone, each hour ticking by until I prepared for bed, removing my restrictive clothing into a more suitable nightgown and setting down in front of my dressing table to brush my hair. I brushed idly until something caught my eye in the mirror. I leaned in closer, only to see what looked like a male silhouette in my window. I shrieked, spinning around just as a blast of cool air hit me and the highwayman landed into my room with ease. I jumped up, backing into my door as I stared at the man in disbelief.

“What is it?” My father called up the stairs but fortunately stayed at the bottom of them as I shouted down.

“Nothing father. Only a spider.” I stuttered, keeping my eyes fixed on the intruder in my room.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed, rushing towards him and lifting my arms to push at his chest but hesitated at the last minute and merely stood awkwardly close, staring up at him.

“I’ve come to visit you, of course.” He spoke in an agonisingly high volume considering the fact that my parents were downstairs. “You really shouldn’t have shown me where your room was last night, you made it far too easy for me.”

“You’re insane.” I muttered as I noticed him looking around the room, swinging his pistol in his hand as he meandered.

“They don’t call me the gallant highwayman for nothing.” He looked at me, arching an eyebrow as he sat down on the stool where I had sat only moments ago and spread his legs arrogantly. “It means I must be brave, chivalrous and dashingly handsome.”

“You have no doubts whatsoever, do you?” I asked in wonder.

“Should I?” He looked up at me through hooded eyes and licked his lips slowly, giving me the chills that he knew he’d give.

“I suppose not. But you really should be leaving now.” I urged him.

“But we’ve hardly talked.” He rose, drawing nearer to me. “Or done anything else.”

“And you _won’t_ be doing anything else. My mother was already paranoid that you’d…” I stopped myself, already blushing at the thought of having to explain myself to him.

“What?” He teased me, refusing to acknowledge my insinuation. “What did she think I’d do? Ravish you? Tear your very clothes from your body? Take you overnight, bring you home then never see you again?”

My blush deepened, spreading over my cheeks as his murmuring made my hands tremble and my breath leave my lungs. I tried to come up with a snappy answer by found no words could form in my mouth as he came closer and wrapped his hand around the back of my head. He leaned my head back, exposing my neck to kiss it softly. I shuddered, my breath faltering and I stumbled into his arms, my hands pressing against his chest as I struggled to think straight.

He pushed me back slightly so I could feel my bed frame against my calves and I was shocked into a clear mind, suddenly hammering at his chest for him to release me. He fought against me until my squirming became unable to work with any more.

“Get out.” I spat, pressing my fingers to my lips.

“Come now, I’ll be quiet.” He drawled, touching his hand to my arm but I flinched away.

“But I won’t.” I growled, pointing at the window. “And my father owns a shotgun.”

With his usual easiness the highwayman lifted his arms in the air in surrender and backed to the window.

“If you insist.” He said, nodding his head at me before climbing up onto the window frame and disappearing into the darkness. I rushed towards to window to find him gone with no horse in sight. It never ceased to amaze me how quickly he could vanish from a scene.

It was a whole week before my parents let me out of the house and I wasn’t happy about it. I kept my window and door locked and bolted at all times but I still felt paranoid whenever a branch whipped against my window or thought I saw a shadow when there wasn’t one.

When finally, there was a dinner party at a well-known friend’s house that lived close so my parents felt comfortable escorting me there in the carriage with the new driver that we had hired temporarily. My parents fussed and fussed about my clothes and my safety and my jewellery. I kept insisting that nothing was going to happen but they wouldn’t hear it. None of it mattered, however. We were halfway there when I heard an all-too familiar sound of a pistol being fired outside the carriage. My parents looked to me worriedly as we heard shouting then a voice ringing out above the hubbub.

“If you wouldn’t mind exiting the vehicle.”

My heart stopped as I recognised the voice, the highwayman, _my_ highwayman, but he had chosen the wrong carriage, he had chosen to steal from my parents without knowing that I was inside too. I stepped out of the carriage quite despite the protestations of my parents and held my arms up as I did so. The highwayman grinned at me as he saw me.

“Well, well, well, look who it is.” He said. I looked to the side and noticed the coachman still alive on the front of the vehicle but being held back by two men who must be part of the highwayman’s gang.

“You didn’t kill him.” I commented, slowly lowering my arms when I realised he didn’t even have his pistol drawn.

“No. It seemed to upset you so when I did it last time.”

“… Thank you.” I said reluctantly, turning back to see my father exiting the carriage with his shotgun pointed at the highwayman and his arms shaking like leaves.

“Step away from my daughter.” He threatened, cocking the gun. The highwayman chose to ignore the threat, not even drawing his own weapon.

“Keep talking like that and I _will_ shoot you.” The highwayman spoke calmly but it was enough to make my father’s grip falter.

“Please father, go back inside with mother. I can deal with this.” I begged him.

“No. He’s a scoundrel and deserves to be shot.” My father growled and let off his shotgun, fortunately missing the highwayman. I don’t know what I would have done if he had hit him, but he didn’t and I didn’t dare ponder on the possibility of it. The shot sent both the gang’s and our horses into a state of confusion and while the men tried to stay in control of their animals, the highwayman subtly scooped me up onto his and rode away from the scene of the crime. I could hear more shots firing behind us and I only had to hope that it was my father being errant with the gun rather than the alternative.

“Your father’s a terrible shot.” The highwayman commented, adjusting me on his lap, pulling his hand tighter around my waist.

“Why did you think I let him out with a gun?” I responded tersely. “Listen, that was a stupid thing to do. You realise my father’s going to track you down and kill you.”

“I’m not scared of your father.” He insisted and I could feel his lips curling against my cheek. I wanted to assure him that he should be scared, that my father was someone to be reckoned with but I just couldn’t. He didn’t even fear a hanging, let alone one protective father.

“Besides, I’ll bring you home at midnight at the latest.” He added and I looked back at him in shock.

“You’re bringing me back?”

“Of course. I merely wanted to see you again. I’m not a monster.” He assured me even though I felt unsure.

We stayed silent until we came into some dark side streets and I saw a light coming through an open doorway and sounds of brawling coming from within. He could feel me tense up under his hands and was quick to reassure me.

“Relax. I’ll look after you.”

“I’ve never been to a tavern before.” I confessed gingerly.

“Not many of them have.” He pulled his horse up to where the other horses were tied up outside and hopped off, securing his horse to the wooden post. Then he assisted me down, laying his hands on far more of my body than I would have accepted before setting me onto the pavement. Just then, I could hear a thundering of hooves and the highwayman’s gang appeared, stopping just before they ran the two of us over. There was a succession of loud shouts and all of them talking over one another so I couldn’t make out much of what they were saying, until one of them turned to me.

“You kept the harlot on the horse then. We had a little trouble with the old man, but we got him back home eventually.” He shrugged. He had a youthful face but a crude manner of speaking that made me cringe for his poor parents. If, indeed, he had any.

“ _Don’t_ call this woman a harlot, Will.” My highwayman spoke menacingly, stepping in front of me and pointing a finger at the youth. He backed off, arms in the air as he meandered into the pub. We followed him, a blast of warm air hitting my frozen fingers and I felt a twinge of relief, even more so as the people seated by the fireplace saw us enter and quickly cleared a space for us around it. The highwayman set me down beside him firmly on the bench before removing his mask and heavy woollen cape which exposed his black ruffled shirt that was kept loose around his neck, presumably for romantic purposes. I had to avert my eyes quickly as the loose-fitting shirt also exposed part of his chest that I was unprepared to see. He subtly wrapped his arm around the back of the bench and around me but I chose to ignore it as it did make me feel safer among the tavern company that I was unused to.

“You’re looking very pretty tonight.” He leered over me and I shifted uncomfortably.

“I _believed_ I was going to a dinner party.” I responded tersely.

“And such a beautiful necklace.” He continued as if I hadn’t said anything and brought his hand up to trace his finger over my neck lightly. I bit my lip, my hand automatically reaching up to my necklace.

“I barely got this out of the house after the little stunt you pulled last time with my jewellery.” I scolded him.

“I’m sorry.” He said shortly. “You can have it back if you really want.”

“No.” I expressed. “No, I don’t care about jewellery. You can take all of my money and jewellery and wealth. I only want to be left alone. Having an illicit affair with a highwayman cannot be good for my reputation.”

“But, technically, I stole you. There can be no objection to that.” He responded, bringing his face very close to mine in the process. I very much wanted to stand up and get away from the ignorant man but was too scared by the company to move a muscle.

“Of course there can. No man will want me if he thinks I’m already… taken.” I stumbled over my words, a blush heating my cheeks. I stared at the fire, refusing to look at the highwayman as I watched the flames dance in the grate. When I did look back, I saw that he was deep in thought and had barely noticed my silence for the past few minutes. He didn’t flinch at my movement so I allowed my eyes to be fixed on his profile for longer than I would usually, taking in the dark smudges around his eyes that kept his identity concealed when wearing the mask, his high cheekbones and as my eyes wondered lower I noticed something more. There was a fine white line stretched around the whole circumference of his neck that almost looked to be the faintest trace of an old scar.

“Where did you get that scar?” I asked him, already knowing the answer fully. I just wanted to hear it from him.

“My boys came too late once.” The highwayman shifted, his hand reaching up to his neck to hide the scar from my view. He tore his gaze from mine quickly but I still caught that glimpse of fear in his eyes that betrayed just how scared he was, hanging there from the noose, thinking himself deserted and alone.

“Is it my turn with the tart yet?” The vile young man named Will interrupted us, the moment shattered as he stuck his head between us.

“What did I say about calling the woman names, William?” The highwayman said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, yeah.” The youth said dismissively. “Thought you might want to know, the mistress of the house is talking about renting out your room again.”

The highwayman nodded, standing up and starting to head towards a rather round lady with a jolly yet menacing aspect. They started to talk heatedly with his back towards us so the youth allowed himself to sit beside me, arrogantly wrapping his arm around me in the same way that the highwayman had.

“James is very fond of you.” He leered and I averted my head, refusing to engage in conversation. “Sorry, I meant to say the- what is it you commoners call him? The dashing highway man? The dandy highwayman?”

“Gallant, actually.” I corrected him, unable to stand his constant burbling.

“Of course, gallant. That’s what draws women to him like moths to a flame. But what’s left for the rest of us?” He inclined his head towards mine and I pushed him away.

“You see? You fawn all over him and yet shy away from me.” His tone shifted suddenly to aggression and he pulled me onto his lap. I squealed before I felt a rough palm pressing against my mouth and the other gripping at my waist. I squirmed against his grip, attempting to pull myself from his grasp but despite his thin build he was still stronger than me and I couldn’t get away. Once he had me secured, he removed his hand from my mouth and hitched up my skirt, making me squeal and fight even more desperately. Then suddenly his hands stopped scrambling and so I stilled, the noise and bustling of the tavern suddenly silenced too, so quiet that I could hear the gun held against the young man’s head being cocked.

“Put her down, Will.” I heard my highwayman’s voice speak to the man currently entangled with me. I landed on the bench unceremoniously, quickly righting myself to see the entire tavern staring at us. James was obviously big news here.

“Now stand up.” He said condescendingly and Will followed his instructions. “I’d shoot you right now, but I feel that the lady wouldn’t appreciate me showing her what death looks like.”

I could see Will pale considerably but didn’t flinch away from the gun. He was obviously used to such threats.

“Now get out. And I don’t ever want to see you again. If I do, I’ll get you right here-” He motioned his gun between Will’s eyebrows. “Do you understand?”

Will nodded sullenly before sloping out of the pub, alone. All eyes remained on us, however, even as the highwayman put his pistol back in its holster.

“Come on.” He mumbled, gesturing for me to stand up. He picked up his cloak and mask and enveloped an arm around me before ushering me out of the tavern.

The moment we stepped out of the tavern the hubbub started up again and the highwayman stood wordlessly in front of me. He ran his hand through his hair anxiously, turning to look back at the tavern before helping me up onto the horse. He then hopped up beside me, circling his arm around my waist before we pulled away and started travelling.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know. He wasn’t doing anything to hurt me.” I muttered, inclining my head slightly. I could feel his firm heartbeat and steady rising and falling of his chest against my back as I waited for his response.

“It wasn’t that.” He spoke hoarsely. “It was his defying me. When you’re in this business, you can’t have anyone undermine you. No matter what little things they do.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip, feeling the horse sway beneath me.

“Not that I wouldn’t have stopped him.” He assured me as an afterthought.

“Thanks.”

We stayed in silence for the remainder of the journey until we pulled up to my home. I saw there were candles lit in the downstairs windows and the highwayman lingered behind a hedge so my parents couldn’t see us just yet. He helped me off of the horse and held the reins firmly in his hands so the horse didn’t shy away.

“I’m sorry about tonight. Whenever I’ve taken the others out it’s been… more enjoyable.”

“You always compare me to others.” I chewed on my lip and he placed a finger under my chin, leading my face towards his.

“That’s because you’re not like them.” He smirked, leaning in and capturing his lips on mine. It was only brief and left me wanting more.

“How should I contact you when I want to see you again?” I asked him softly and he looked at me slightly dumbstruck.

“You can leave a note at the tavern, if you’d like.” He responded hesitantly.

“Alright. I’ll see you again.” I said firmly and he grasped his hand in mine, bringing it to his lips.

“Yes.” He said, turning to mount his horse. I watched him ride away before turning back and entering my house, back to my terrified parents and lonely house.

I had planned to wait a day or two before sending a note to my highwayman but the day afterwards I found my hands shaking and I couldn’t help but reach for paper.

_‘Tonight, 8 o'clock? Try to be subtle.’_

I scrawled across a scrap of paper and folded and sealed it before hesitating on who to address it to. I had a feeling that 'the gallant highwayman’ wouldn’t be suitable, but I didn’t want to use his true name, James, either. After deliberating for quite some time, I decided on putting his true name and hoped that it would reach him.

I sent for a footman and gave him a small tip to keep the note a secret from my parents before directing him towards the small tavern in the centre of town. He seemed confused by the request but didn’t question me and set off towards the tavern with me watching diligently at the window to make sure he did so. I worried that my highwayman might think me too eager, but I was. And I wasn’t afraid to show him. He might even rejoice at my forwardness.

I spent many anxious hours waiting at the window, first to see the footman return without a note for me, then to see if the highwayman would send someone else instead with confirmation. No-one came however and as day turned into night I debated on whether to stay at the window or not. I picked up a book but found my mind too distracted to read and as eight o'clock drew nearer and nearer I realised that I had barely consumed a single word.

The clock struck eight and I tapped on the windowsill, staring out into the inky blackness of the garden when I saw a silhouette appear under the moonlight and signal at me to follow them. It wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I wrote the word ‘subtle’ but it was better than what he’d done before. I picked up my candle, manoeuvring myself around the house, careful not to bump into either the servants or my parents and made it to the front door without a hitch. The moment I opened the door the candle I was holding blew out so I left it on the front step to pick up when I returned.

Then I started the uncertain trek into the garden, my feet soaked through within the first few steps and my hem beginning to drag through the dewy grass as I manoeuvred towards the tall tree at the end of the garden where my highwayman had signalled.

Confusion struck as I approached the tree and found no-one there. Thinking that perhaps he had hidden himself away, I wondered off of the path and behind the tree where I was suddenly accosted by two hands grabbing me by the shoulders and dragging me down onto the ground. I shrieked but they didn’t cover my mouth, thinking themselves too far from my house to bother, which spelt out bad news for me.

I cried out, pulling against my assailant’s hands when I twisted and caught sight of their face; it was that obnoxious youth, Will who had his filthy hands on me. I called his name out, thinking that it would disturb him but it only spurned him on further, pulling my arms behind my back and kissing my neck, even as I squirmed and lashed out.

I didn’t stop screaming as his hands tore open my bodice, revealing my corseted waist which he groped at eagerly, trying to kiss me at the same time but it never quite worked as I kept crying out and didn’t comply with his orders. Then he started to wrestle with my skirts, pulling them up as he worked to grip at my thigh. I started protesting properly, but he was so much larger than me and so much stronger that he held the advantage.

“Calm down, Miss.” He had the audacity of murmuring next to my ear. “Surely your highwayman has done this with you before.”

“Of course he hasn’t, you repulsive little man.” I spat, breath catching as Will stood up, placing a foot on my chest to stop me from squirming away and started working on his breeches.

Then a shot. A single shot and Will fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, the pressure on my chest suddenly gone and I involuntarily screamed before looking up and seeing my highwayman holding his pistol. It seemed like a millennia passed then and there, me staring up at the highwayman while he looked back at me, his eyes dark with anger and a dead body slumped between us. Then lights came on at the house and we heard shouts, triggering my highwayman into action. He rushed towards me, kneeling at my side whilst muttering hurriedly into my ear.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to have to see that.” He pulled me up, leading me to his horse quickly. “Come with me, let’s stay away from the scene.”

I looked at him warily as he expected me to get on his horse.

“I’ll only take you around the corner, I promise. It’ll only be until the fuss had died down.” He assured me. Feeling so vulnerable and useless, in that moment I allowed him to lead me, let him put me onto his horse and indeed only take me around the corner where we could still hear muffled shouts and exclamations but we weren’t the ones getting questioned. I meant to thank him for getting me out of the way but somehow the words never came out, even as he pulled me off of the horse and set me against a brick wall. He had his eyes fixed on my face, tilting my head this way and that, checking for marks and he sighed when he spotted the dark purple welts now blooming on my neck, pressing a finger against them gingerly to see if they hurt. Once he was satisfied, he pulled back, looking at me with such earnest concern I felt like a small child with him.

“Are you alright?”

It was probably the tension of the evening, but that one little question drove me over the edge and I started sobbing hysterically against his chest. I expected him to pull away from me the moment there was tears and ride off into the distance, but he did exactly the opposite. He embraced me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders firmly and staying there until I had cried myself into a stupor and was pulling away of my own accord. I looked for my handkerchief but found it missing as I usually kept it concealed in the folds of my bodice, so simply tore a section off of the now useless bodice and that served as a handkerchief as I pulled the rest of the useless garment off. Once I had sufficiently calmed down, I turned to the highwayman, almost breaking down again as I saw the look on his face.

“You must think me a fool.” I spoke sharply, trying to hide my hurt. “Here you are, a highwayman who puts his life on the line every day and a man touches me and I break down.”

“He would have done more if I hadn’t arrived.” He assured me, pressing a hand to my shoulder but I shrugged him off.

“Thank you.” I said softly and earnestly, refusing to look into his eyes as I did so.

“The little creep must have found your note in my room. I only just received it now, and was considering waiting another day as I knew I was going to be late. Can you imagine…” He trailed off, imagining fantasy scenarios in which I had been raped, humiliated and killed so I cut him off sharply.

“But you were here. And you saved me. That’s all that matters.” I said firmly, drawing him closer to me. “And I realized something.”

He looked to me in confusion.

“I want you to be my first.” I confessed, feeling myself flushing as I said so.

“But what about all you said? How damaging a liaison with a highwayman could be to your reputation?”

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them. Besides, I’d rather have slept with you and be an old maid than be married and never have.”

“As you’re confessing, I have something to say too.” He continued, gripping my shoulder possessively. “Do you remember, in the tavern when Will did very much the same thing to you? I lied. I didn’t stop him because he was trying to belittle me. I stopped him because I watched his hands run over your chest and waist and pull at your skirt and grip your legs… and I wanted to _kill_ him for it.”

The highwayman’s tone was so sincere, I forgot for a moment that I was listening to a real man and not an elaborate speech from a play. I stayed silent, trying to process his earnest words.

“I do believe…” He continued, shifting slightly as he did so. “… I’m ardently and mindlessly in love with you.”

His words wrapped around my heart and tugged, making me lurch forward and kiss him without even thinking.


End file.
